In the aftermath of the Shifang protests, Party mouthpiece Global Times published an editorial on July 6 exhorting adults not to “encourage students to demonstrate.” The paper reminded readers that “high school students were among the main force of the Red Guards,” the vicious bands of Party zealots who carried out much of the ruin of the Cultural Revolution. On this note, NetEase Weibo user 404dead has a coy follow-up question:
404dead: The Global Times says that “the job of high school students is only to study; they should not be encouraged to directly take part in matters of national politics. It is immoral for adults to exploit the young for political ends.” Global Times, please explain this picture:
404被消失 : 《环球时报》称“中学生的任务都是学习,不被鼓励直接参与国家政治性事件。成年人利用未成年人实现政治目的是不道德的。”【请环球时报解释一下这个图】
Translation by Samuel Wade.